Two-temperature refrigerator



March 18, 1952 G. K; lwAsHrrA TWO-'TEMPERATURE REFRIGERATOR original Filed July 14, 1945 Patented Mar. 18, ,1952

TWO-'T-MPERATRE REFRIGRATR of Delaware Originaliapplication J uly'i 14,;y 19433;. Serial Noz-f 494,629.;y Divided'and this-,1applicationJuncf16,@ 1950, S.erialfNo.s-,168\,598.

Tli'isfinventionrelates vtd refrigeratrsand p'ar- 1 tcul'arly. to refrigerators of theitfype having two compartments t'o be .maintaihed'at diifrenttemperatures;v This applicatio'nis a. division of the copendiri'g,Y application of- GeorgeK,l Iwaslit'a, SrilNo. 494,`62'9"1ed Ju1'y.1'4`, 1943'and` issued on/Jfiine '201'. 1950 into Patent N 22511185 1'.

Itis an. object of" the present invention to proc-- videanimproved two temperature,- two compartment refrigerator providedwith' a sin'glerefrigerant circulating circuit'wliicli' is so associated with"thetwo 'compartments' that one ofthe com`- partments will be cooled to a lower temperature" thanl the other compartment.

It"is1aniotlier obj ect'of 'thepresent" invention to' provide a'two temperaturatwo vcom'partinent 're^` frigerat'orwherein the cooling of 'the` compartiments' isu accomplished by one refrigerant' circulatingcir'cuitAv having av pair of evaporators; one of"theevaporatorsbeing in' direct heat exchange` relationwith one'bf the compartments" and 'the other'ofcthe evaporators being in indirect heatex= changerelationfwith' the other compartment so that thelat't'er cmnpa'rtment'v has a :temperature llg'herfthan thatoffth'e firstcompartment-' 'v It isaf furthe'robj ect of the present invention.

to? provideav two temperature; two" compartment refrigerator "having a'l single-*refrigerant circulate' ing; circuitprov'ided: with" a pair" of evaporatojr one oftlie:evaporators'fbeing in direct hea-#exe change'r'relaticn' with' one off the comp'arti'nents' which is to be cooled to a lowtemperatureand'the" other evaporator' being' enclseduwithin an -air cnamberwnin-substantially surrounds:they:other` compartment" and inA which' refrigeratedair' is" forcibfycirculated t'o ect an e'cientcolingof' the-second."` compartment' but only to a tempera.- ture ;li'glier thantl'iatj of the `first-'comp'ai-tx'nentl- Otlenobje'ctsland advantages will become. ap.-

parent ,Y from the following?! description taken, l in conjunction. with;v the.l accompanying. drawings wherein Figt; 1 L is7 a-,front elevational viewof a refriger-l atorconstructed according to-.the presentfinvenA` Eig; 2li-isz;- a@ medial L longitudinal.` sectionv oni-:az -somewhatienlarged scale illustrating, the ar;- rangement;v ofc ther two compartments-witwre-espect to each other and the manner in which 2 v the evaporator cils; are 'associ'a'tedwithtl'i'e com;

partinen'ts'. n

In the drawing,V the reference character"l"in` dicate's; ge'ne'rallt ai. refricrater`H constructed in accordance with" the presentinvention havinga top `1o`w temperature compartment or'frost chest I2k and a'lw higher temperature compartment I4. The frostchest I2 isv formedlbS-7- a metallic liner I 6' which is secured to a frontframe at I8. The` liner IB'may 'be removab1y'secured tothe frameI', if desired, l,bya pairpft'en'sione'd "straps 2t) which are secured at 'their forwardv ends toi'th'e' frame' I8 and'which'have theirrearends connect# sired to remove the liner' lifrom'the re'jfrigeta; tor as will be hereinafter explained. The lowervv compartment I4 is formed by avlin'er 24'l which is permanently aiied to the frameL I8; An outer shell 26* is secured along itsfor-ward edge tothe frameI I8 and'has" secured to its" rear edge apanelx 2`8 which is -connected'to thefsh'ell- 26h57" sheet metal screws 30. A third compartment 32`desig nated as 'the machinery'compartmentis providedvl in the refrigerato'rcabinet below the-fstcrl'ageI-com-*- partment I4 andA has its upper." limitdene'd by! a metallic .panell 34 lfastened t'o'" 'the htraniei I 8, the

ing to' the machinery 'compartment32' :is close-d*V The; compartments` I 2 'andl :I 4""are coo'lednbyc, a' refrigeranty circulating system 42 whichf includes'. at compressor` 44,7. a* l-conde'nser 461` and a pa'irt: of evaporators fand 50i;y The evaporator-"coil Meis', secured in heat exchangemelationshipto th'eouter surfacef-of fthe-f'liner-o- I syandsmayihavev the heat exchange: Itherebetween .made-,mora eictiv'e the use ofy a substance such as metallic Perma'- gum which is a heat transfer agent having high thermal conductivity formed of a soft nonoxidizing material impregnated with aluminum flakes, graphite and the like. The inlet to the evaporator coil 48 is connected by means of a capillary tube 52 to the outlet from the condenser 46. The outlet from the evaporator coil 48 is series connected to the inlet of the evaporator coil 58, the arrangement of which will be described in detail hereinafter. The outlet from the evaporator coil 58 leads to an accumulator 54 which in turn is connected by a suction tube 56 to the inlet to the compressor 44.

The liner 24 is substantially enclosed by a'.

spaced shell 58 having its forward edge 66 sealed against the outer surface of the liner 24. Space 62 between the outer surface of the liner 24 and the shell 58 forms a path for the circulation of cooling air about the liner 24. The evaporator 50 is mounted within the space 62 and is supported therein Aby a bracket 64, and, if desired, may be removable from the Space 62. The air is circulated in the path indicated by the arrows by a lfan 66 driven by an electric motor 68 the cycling of which preferably is governed by the temperature conditions in the compartment I4. The motor 68 is mounted outside the shell 55 on a shelf 10.

AIf it is desired that the refrigerant circulating system be removable from the refrigerator, the insulation may be divided as shown and that part of the insulation indicated by the reference character 'I2 may be readily removable. Access is had to the refrigerating system within the cabinet by removing the panel 30 and the insulation l2. This Will uncover the liner I6, and the coupling 22 may be disconnected, to permit removal of the liner and the evaporator tubing 48 from the cabinet. If the evaporator 50 is made to be removable from the space 62 it is taken out in an upwardly direction through an opening provided for that purpose and thus the two evaporators which are connected in series are removed from the cabinet. The tubes 56 and 52 pass downwardly through a slot 'I3 and panel 54 and the opening through which they pass is closed by a cover plate 'I4 which is secured in place by screws 16. This plate is removed with the tubes 52 and 56. The compressor and condenser are unbolted from `the frame and the removal of the system from the cabinet is completed. The system is replaced by reversing these steps.

The two compartments I2 and I4 are maintained atV different temperatures since the evaporator coil48 is in intimate heat absorbing relation with the liner I6 while the evaporator 58 is mounted inthe space 62 and the compartment I4 is cooled bythe convection currents flowing over the evaporator 50 and then over the liner 24. This does not provide for rapid or intense cooling, and the temperature in the compartment I4-will be a predetermined amount higher than the temperature inthe compartment I2. It should be noted that the compartment I2 is substantially smaller than the compartment I4 and if the same area of the evaporator coil is used the compartment I2 is maintained at a colder temperature. Furthermore, the evaporator coil surrounding the liner I6 is first in series from the condenser 46 and the temperature conditions in the compartment I2 would thus be satisfied first. Thus the frost chest I2 will be operated at a temperature belowfreezing for-the storage of frozen foods and the freezing of foods and ice cubes, and the com-Y 4 partment I4 will have a temperature above freezing.

While only one modification of the present invention has been shown, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that n-umerous modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A refrigerator comprising a liner which forms a lw temperature compartment, a second liner spaced from the first liner which forms a high temperature compartment, said second liner being partially encompassed by a spaced sheet which forms with the wall of said liner an enclosed space, a refrigerant circulating system having a pair of evaporator coils, one of said coils being in heat absorbing relation with the low temperature -compartment liner and the other of said coils being positioned in said enclosed space, and means for circulating air over said second evaporator coil and then over said higher temperature compartment liner.

2. A refrigerator comprising a liner to form a first compartment, a second liner spaced from said first liner to form a second compartment, said second liner being partially encompassed by a spaced sheet which forms with the wall of said liner an enclosed space, a refrigerant circulating system having a pair of series connected evaporator coils, one of said coils being in heat absorbing relation with said first liner and the other of said coils being positioned in said enclosed space, and means for circulating air over said second evaporator coil and then over said second liner.

3. A refrigerator comprising a liner to form a first compartment, a second liner spaced from said rst liner to form a second compartment,A said second compartment being substantially; larger than and separate from said first compartment, said second liner being partially encompassed by a spaced sheet which forms ,withv the Wall of said liner an enclosed space, means ther-..

evaporator coil and then over said second liner,-

the temperature of said second compartment being substantially higher than the temperature of said first compartment.

4. A refrigerator comprising a liner to form a` first compartment, a second liner spaced from said first liner to form a second compartment, said second compartment being substantially larger than said first compartment, said second -V liner being partially encompassed by a spaced sheet which forms with the wall of said liner an enclosed space, a refrigerant circulating system having a pair of series connected evaporatorf coils, one of said coils being in heat absorbing relation with said first liner and the other ofl said coils being positioned in said enclosed space,

and means for circulating air over said secondi evaporator coil and then over said second linerf' the relative sizes lof the two compartments and the indirect cooling of said' second compartment-2 by said second evaporator portion causing the temperature of said rst compartment to be substan- K Number Y tially lower than the temperature of said second 1,926,384 compartment. 2,035,573 GEORGE K. IWASHITA. 2,101,656 5 2,309,797 REFERENCES CITED 2,310,117 ,The following references are of record in the 2,405,392 le of this patent: 2,416,354 2,416,777 UNITED STATES PATENTS lo Number Name Date 1,798,951 Munters Mar. 31, 1931 Numberv 1,865,513 Gaugler July 5, 1932 575,535*

8 Name Date Hull Sept. 12, 1933 Smith Mar. 31, 1936 Steenstrup Dec. 7, 1937 Stickei Feb. 2. 1943 Reeves Feb. 2, 1943 Atchison Aug. 6, 1946 .Shoemaker Feb. 25, 1947 Schweller Mar. 4, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Apr. 28, 1933 

